I did not need lunch on Wednesday; you won’t find it in my story of Wednesday. But the story does start with me waking at 3AM and texting Deborah a good morning for the beginning of her day. I then went back to sleep, barely waking and texting. Deborah was happy to be surprised by an early text. I visit her Time Zone occasionally, and when I can’t sleep. Running on her schedule is always a pleasure; it seems to shorten the distance between us. I can always get a nap if I become sleepy.
I rose later, after 8, and was happy that freshly brewed coffee awaited me; I had assembled the locally roasted and ground coffee the night before. While a $99.99 KitchenAid coffee maker seemed an extravagance, and I only bought it at Best Buy as I had a $100 gift card from buying The Machine (the combo washer and dryer from LG), I am happy with the timer, the much needed auto shut off, and the taste of the brewed product.
Z’s Willy Wonka play (she is playing Wonka) has moved to Saturday (there has been some illness in the cast, I understand), and the result is that I now have no plans for Wednesday. This is one of the pleasures (and fears for some) of retirement. I also received news that my “Chat Holmes and Watson” was accepted by 2600 The Hacker’s Quarterly and would appear in one of the following issues (from my previous experience, this is two quarters out). It takes them about two months to respond.
I wrote and finished the blog. I headed out to the gaming store, found a figure that matched what I was looking for, and purchased it (it came in a two-pack, and I would combine the two figures to make what I wanted). My colon was presenting me with the cork and bubbly issue. I rushed home and let things happen. I had not experienced this in a while, but was relieved (literally) that it was a known issue. Things are more normal now.
With the risk of a bad moment over, I drove to a local Great Clips and learned that 4ish on Wednesday is not a bad time to show up without an appointment, as there was no line and they were not busy. Soon, I had less on top. I was given the senior discount without asking (I look the part), but paid a good tip. The woman who cut my hair was bored and polite until I paid, and I got a genuine smile. I paid her the senior discount with my tip, which is the money that goes to her (she had a pronoun pin that directed me to these uses).
The 649 was full, so I drove home. I put on another episode of Elsbeth on Paramount+ while the potatoes boiled, the steak warmed up, and the salt soaked in a bit. I tried one of freshly made frig pickles. The taste was mostly just vinegar, but with hints of garlic and dill. I used English cucumbers from Costco, which were a bit industrial for my taste.
I fried a 1/2-inch boneless ribeye steak in butter and tried to brown it on both sides. However, I did not get the pan hot enough for a good sear, and the steak was mainly baked when I finished it in the oven. Alas, I need to use more heat at first and less time in the oven. I steamed asparagus and made mashed potatoes to go with it. I got the veggie good. I enjoyed the show with the corrupt investment family while enjoying my dinner. One must enjoy the mistakes as they make us better (we hope), and I got the salt right on the steak. Next time!
Next, I headed to Wildwood Taphouse and saw JR there, and we chatted for a while. I had a heavy, dark-as-my-soul beer, and the place was busy. I sat outside with JR. It was warm enough with the sun and no wind (the building breaking the wind), and then I read more Elric by Michael Moorcock. Young folks asked about the book I was reading while enjoying a beer and some chips; they like SciFi, but were unfamiliar with the author. “Someone old-school,” I said, and recommended him, and a few others, books from The Iron Druid Chronicles and The Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. I finished another story (the book is a collection of Elric and Elric-related stories).
I stopped by Barnes & Noble and picked up two hardware magazines from Europe (the American-based one is no longer available). I was surprised to see RISC-V on the cover of Elecktor. I thought it was forgotten.
I returned home, did the dishes, read more Elric, and worked on my new figure for my new character. I removed the transparent flames from the hands and attached small rectangles to the figure. I then did a basic paint to get the colors on the figure. I printed tiny cards from public images from Wikipedia for tarot cards. I attached these to the hands of the figure. I then painted the small cards with a transparent anti-shine to lock in the ink.
The figure needs fine work, including some metallics added to fine detail for buttons, belts, and clips. I thought the purple speed paint was a fail, and will dry brush on some lighter purple for the coat. I need to reattach some transparent, electrical-like material I harvested from the other figure to put around the cards I added. I will use jeweler’s cement as I need it to stay on, and the glue to hold well and not burn the material (CA glue will be a poor choice). I will try to finish it on Thursday night.
I read the zines, and the focus was on AI, both hardware and software-based AI options. I am jaded to AI claims being a practitioner (even retired), but the reasons for RISC-V resurfacing reminded me of why Python resurfaced. Like earlier forms of Python, RISC-V is open-source, has a strong community, and is strongly supported by academics. I also learned that foundation models are available for AI to allow the developer to call in a pre-made and well-understood (and open-source) AI solution. My attention is raised, and the RISC-V boards listed in detail have caused me to drool a little. While I can resist the latest Kickstarter for a board game and a new 3D printer, I might not resist a RISC-V Linux-based computer that looks delicious. Oh my! I could build a small footprint machine, call in a foundation model, even on a tiny processor, and consume images and make decisions. My little submarine might be possible! Dreams. Wonder. And not expensive (less by 1/2 than a new printer).
We will see. I nodded off when I returned to reading Elric stories, stopped, turned off the light, and soon slept the night. I do not remember the dreams, but I imagine the night phantoms included mixed AI and Elric swinging his cursed sword.
Thanks for reading!
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 